A zine fest is an event where zine creators and self-publishers of all stripes will be able to interact, trade, and sell their wares to the public, as well as teach the public about writing and small scale self-publishing through small workshops (workshop schedule to come.)

And what is a zine? A zine is a self-published booklet typically made and distributed by the same person or small group of people. Zines can be about anything! They can contain poetry, prose, comics, art, photography, personal stories, essays, and more! Zines are usually hand printed or photocopied, so nearly anyone can make one! Zines are associated with underground subcultures and have traditionally been a voice of those who are underprivileged or misrepresented in society.

While zines would be the focus of the zine fest, artists who create art books, poetry chapbooks, independent comics, self-published books, and handmade journals may also be present.

Members of the public should come away from the event with some knowledge of self-publishing and underground subcultures, potentially having added some works by independent artist to their collections.

This event is made possible with support from the Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

If you would like to donate to help make the Litchfield County Zine Fest 2018 a reality, click this button (include in the message box whether you want your name listed on the zine fest banner for your contribution):

Raised so far (as of 4/11/18): $100

(The Indiegogo funds had to be refunded because we didn’t earn at least $100 on the campaign.)

We need to raise a portion of the grant request in order to be able to get the arts grant money. This amounts to about $350, including the worth of in-kind (non-monetary) donations.

Keep an eye on this spot for more information! Also, if you live nearby, create zines, and would be interested in helping to organize this event, or would be interested in participating in some other way, email me at metaparadox11 AT gmail DOT com

Updates

4-4-18: Today we officially finalized the date with the venue and paid for the rental with the state grant money! We also sent out acceptance letters to tablers! We’ll be able to squeeze in all 41 tablers who applied! We will upload a list of tablers soon!

8-28-17: The IndieGoGo campaign is over, and we only raised $87 out of a goal of $1700, but you can still donate toward making the fest a reality by clicking the donate button above. We’ll probably need to charge a tabling fee, but we may not if we get the grant, as explained above. This page will keep track of how much has been donated and, later, how the money is spent.

7-29-17: Since arts grants are still on hold in Connecticut, we started an Indiegogo campaign to raise the $1700 necessary to put on the fest. If we can raise that money, tablers won’t have to pay fees! If we earn more than the base goal, we can afford extra stuff! Check it out! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/litchfield-county-zine-fest-2017 Also check out our blog to see the new poster!

6-9-17: A few months ago I submitted an arts grant proposal to the Connecticut Office of the Arts that would fund most of the fest and allow for tablers to not have to pay a fee. Results were supposed to have been released by now, but the grants have been put on hold until Connecticut can decide on a state budget, which may take until the end of the month. This means that I may have to push the fest back until September. I don’t want to have to push it until October, because there is another zine fest in CT planned for that month, as well as a fairly major one in New York City. If I don’t get the grant, I will be running a Kickstarter, Indiegogo or Gofundme campaign to raise money for the event. Even if I don’t get the grant I will probably still run a campaign, as grant recipients are still expected to raise some of their funds themselves. As soon as the grant results are available, I’ll work on securing a date, releasing the tabling application, and reserving the location (I’m trying to get the Kent Community House, but a local library has also offered their space in case this doesn’t work out.)

Organizers

Head Organizer: Olivia M. I’m a 25-year-old student living in Litchfield County, CT. I run a shop called Paradox Creations on Etsy where I sell my zines. So far I’ve made about 25. I mostly write personal zines about my life, opinions, and identities.